


A Boy Worth Fighting For

by Maeve_of_Winter



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fights, High School, M/M, Protectiveness, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 04:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15622602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/pseuds/Maeve_of_Winter
Summary: As the one who's a gang member, Joaquin figures he's going to be the one protecting Kevin. He's pleasantly surprised and then turned on to find out that Kevin isn't afraid to get into a brawl or two--not as long as it means protecting Joaquin.





	A Boy Worth Fighting For

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone reading! If you ever want to chat, here's my [Tumblr](http://maeve-of-winter.tumblr.com/). I love discussion and hearing people's thoughts, so feel free to submit ideas or just talk Riverdale.

When they’d begun dating, Joaquin had assumed Kevin had no idea how to fight. Northsiders, in his experience, were all bark, no bite, and usually bitches when came to actually getting hurt. At this point, after a dozen times of challenging a bunch of sneering Bulldogs to a fight after getting tired of their snide insults and then seeing them turn tail and run, by default he assumed that it was only Southsiders who had either the stones or the skill to throw down.

And Kevin was sweet, Joaquin knew, and something of a goody-goody, even if he could be convinced to stray from the beaten path and actually have some fun once in a while. With all of the clubs and committees he was involved with, surely there was no way that an Alll-American like Kevin would ever dream of throwing punches and then kneeing the other guy in the gut once he was already doubled over in pain.

So it was something of a shock when, upon finding themselves cornered by four Ghoulies, Kevin barely hesitated a moment before rushing at them, smashing his fist into one’s jaw, headbutting another in the face and then elbowing another, before tackling the last one to the ground and simply whaling on him again and again.

“Never would have believed it,” Joaquin said admiringly, after he’d joined in and together they’d sent all four Ghoulies running. “Where’d you learn to fight?”

Kevin stretched out his arms above his head. “My dad, way back in middle school.”

Joaquin rose his eyebrows. “What’s this? Sheriff Keller let his precious son get into common street brawls? I’d’ve thought he would be against that.”

“Well, he was,” Kevin said earnestly. “But he also said that I needed to know how to defend myself, you know, just in case anyone ever tried to abduct me—I guess after seeing those cases on the job, he couldn’t help but worry. He’s always made sure that I kept up with self-defense.”

“More offense than defense, if you ask me,” Joaquin commented.

Kevin cast him a sideways glance at that remark, and Joaquin rushed to explain. 

“I don’t mean anything by it,” he added. “Just that you were really good. Better than I ever expected, actually. Wouldn’t have pegged you for a brawler, but you certainly have some talent, huh?”

“Yeah, a lot of people say that they wouldn’t expect me to know how to fight,” Kevin replied. “And I don’t know why. I mean, I’m athletic, I go hunting and fishing, and I’m friends with a bunch of other jocks, too. What’s with everyone being so shocked by the idea of me being able KO some guy?”

“Maybe it’s the sweaters,” Joaquin said, the corners of his mouth twitching. “People are expecting some mild-mannered librarian guy who wouldn’t dream of lowering himself to the level of physical violence. And then they get you, whose sweaters disguise his secretly savage nature.”

Kevin raised a skeptical eyebrow. “ ‘Secretly savage’?”

“Hey, don’t get offended,” Joaquin protested, slinging an arm around Kevin’s shoulders. “It’s a compliment. I think you fighting was real impressive.”

It was an understatement; seeing Kevin charging in to fight those Ghoulies hadn’t just brought him to see his boyfriend in a new light, but it had sent a thrill zipping through him, a jolt of arousal at the sight. Watching his boyfriend going toe to toe with his enemies in spite of being outnumbered? Joaquin found it super hot.

He wasn’t what exactly about it that turned him on so much. Maybe it was that even though Joaquin was the more experienced fighter of the two of them, Kevin was still determined to rush to his defense—which was pretty flattering, in his opinion. Maybe it was watching Kevin pick up a piece of his gang lifestyle, thus becoming closer to him. Maybe it was seeing the usually composed and controlled Kevin break out of his mild-mannered mould and turn into a raging warrior, giving into his inhibitions and instincts, a good boy gone bad. Whichever one it was, Joaquin enjoyed watching it. And he while he would never wish any violence on Kevin, he couldn’t help but hope that he’d get to see him fight again soon.

He didn’t have to wait long. A few days later, there was a ruckus when he invited Kevin out to the Whyte Wyrm to have a drink with him—it was Toni’s night tending bar, and she would be willing to serve Kevin if Joaquin asked her to.

When they met, though, Toni didn’t seem very impressed with Kevin and Sweet Pea even less so. Only Fangs showed much enthusiasm, and Joaquin had a sneaking suspicion that had more to do with the admiring gaze Fangs kept shooting up and down Kevin’s legs (In fairness, they were a pair of very nice legs).

But then Finch stumbled up to the bar, drunk and looking for a fight, even more than he normally did when he was sober. Once of the least savvy and most ornery members of the Serpents anyway, his tendency to go out and look for trouble multiplied about ten times when he was boozed up.   

And tonight, he seemed more intent on finding it than ever. 

He shoved his glass across the bar at Toni as he ran a hand through his greasy white-blond hair. “Bitch, gimme ‘nother.”

Toni barely looked up from where she was working on refilling the glasses for another table. “Like hell, Finch. You’re cut off. You can barely stand upright, and I’m not hauling around your carcass to anywhere when you topple over.”

Her matter-of-fact delivery earned a snicker from Kevin, and Finch swiveled around to look at him, almost swaying as he did.

“Bulldog,” he growled out as he spotted Kevin’s varsity letterman jacket. “S’what you want here?”

His protective instincts kicking in, Joaquin reflexively wrapped an arm around Kevin’s shoulders. Unfortunately, Finch wasn’t so drunk that he didn’t notice.

“S’that’s why you’re here,” he sneered. “DeSantos. Thought you’d have better taste in bitches than to slither over to the Northside just to get a piece of ass. He must be one prime fuck if you turned traitor over him.” 

Joaquin’s fists tightened, but Kevin put a calming hand on his shoulder, remaining at ease. Even then, Kevin’s green gaze watched Finch warily.

“You’re done here, Finch,” Toni told him impatiently as she finished prepping the tray. “Find some corner or another and sleep it off.”

Finch ignored her, instead focusing on Joaquin and raising a hand in his direction. Joaquin tensed, preparing for a fight, and he sensed Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs do the same around him, readying to intervene.

“Walk away while you still can,” Joaquin told him coolly. “I’m never in the mood to deal with your bullshit, and I really don’t want to have to put up with it tonight.”

Finch’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Joaquin a hard shove with his extended hand, moving with surprising speed and strength for someone so wasted.

But he wasn’t the only one who was strong and fast. The instant he laid a finger on Joaquin, Kevin was already in motion. Joaquin barely had time to righten himself on his bar stool before Kevin surged forward and slammed his fist in Finch’s jaw without so much as a wince.

Immediately after the impact, Finch collapsed to the ground with a stupefied expression and lay sprawled there, groaning.

“Sorry about that,” Kevin said sheepishly to Joaquin. “I didn’t mean to overreact. I just hated the way he was talking to you.”  

“It’s okay,” Joaquin said, warmth rolling through his stomach as Kevin looked at him, and he tightened his arm around Kevin’s shoulders, pulling him in close. “I didn’t mind you taking him down.” Hell, he’d enjoyed it, not just for someone finally giving Finch the punch he’d richly deserved, but seeing Kevin step up, determined to defend him even though he knew Joaquin could handle it himself, had his pulse pounding and his breathing growing a little heavier. It was just incredibly hot to him, knowing he could make Kevin transform into fierce warrior who struck blows in his honor. Not that Joaquin had ever considered himself to have much honor to defend, but he appreciated the thought.  

As they all admired Kevin’s handiwork, Sweet Pea and Toni at last seemed impressed with Kevin.

“Took him out in one hit,” Sweet Pea mused, prodding Finch’s prone form with a large boot. He glanced at Kevin with newfound respect. “Not bad.”

“Especially not for a Bulldog,” Toni observed. “You know something? You’re all right, Keller.” 

“Definitely all right,” Fangs contributed eagerly.

Joaquin leaned in to whisper in Kevin’s ear. “More than all right,” he murmured, making sure his warm breath tickled the skin on Kevin’s neck.

Kevin blushed, looking away even as a pleased smile settled on his face.

But by the time Southside High merged with Riverdale High, Joaquin finally figured out just what exactly he got from seeing Kevin fight.

A swarm of Bulldogs and Vixens met the Serpents in the hall on their first morning there, blocking the way.

“Oh, look,” a redheaded cheerleader sneered, her lip curling. “A bunch of gutter rats crawled out of the sewer to infest our school.” 

“No, Cheryl, they won’t. Not if I can help it,” spat Reggie Mantle, a Bulldog well known to all of them, mainly for how often he lost to them at street races.

Eyes hard, Toni stepped forward. “What did you just say?”

The redhead, Cheryl, gave a tinkling laugh as she glanced around at her fellow cheerleaders. “Isn’t it tragic? Seems like in addition to being collectively illiterate, the Southside scum is developmentally delayed. All the more reason,” she continued, her expression twisting into something ugly, “why not one of you is fit to set foot into our school.”

“Seems like you’re setting some awfully high standards, considering your father was a drug dealer who killed his own kid,” Toni fired back.

“Yeah, I mean, look at the idiots who already go to your school.” Fangs jerked his thumb at Mantle. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve beaten this prick at drag-racing?”

“Not as hard as I’m about to beat you!” Mantle snarled, but before he could surge forward, there was a flurry of motion behind him; several more people had pushed their way to the front of the crowd of Northsiders to stand between them and the Southsiders. One of them was Kevin, and Joaquin recognized the other three as the Pussycats, that girl band led by the mayor’s daughter.

“Stop it,” Kevin ordered, latching onto Mantle’s bicep. “Fighting is pointless, Reggie. There’s nothing you can do to reverse Southside High’s closing, so you might as well get used to our new students.”

“Says you,” Mantle shot back.

Kevin let go of his arm. “Fine. Go ahead, get in a fight, and when you get caught, you’ll be kicked off the basketball team. Does that sound like something you want?”

Even a moron like Mantle could see Kevin’s logic, and Joaquin watched in satisfaction as he hesitated and then began to turn away.

But Mantle must have been more brain-dead than any of them could have imagined, because at the last minute, he whirled around and charged straight at Joaquin.

Or he tried to. Because, once again, Kevin moved faster than anyone Joaquin had ever seen and, in one punch, had knocked Mantle to the floor. And Joaquin thought it was a beautiful sight, though more for the fierce determination on Kevin’s face, the fluidness of his motions, and the swiftness of his punch, than for anything that was happening to Mantle. Even if he’d been asking for it.

Mantle let out a curse as his body collided with the tile, and Kevin only spared him a glance before surveying the remaining Bulldogs and Vixens, his eyes hard.

“Anyone else?” he asked, spreading his arms wide. “Anyone else want to try to take me?”

A part of Joaquin, that part that already had low heat stirring in the pit of his belly, wanted to see Kevin take on some of the others, wanted to watch him easily throw them to the ground without breaking a sweat. Of course, the greater part of himself wanted to make sure Kevin was safe, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t hoping to see Kevin put the hurt on just one more guy.

There were a few mutinuous murmurs, but no one stepped forward. Even Mantle picked himself up off of the floor and slunk away, accepting his defeat.

Cheryl stomped her stiletto heel. “Cowards! We can’t just allow our school to be overrun by vermin!”

“Shut the hell up, Cheryl,” said one of the Pussycats, the mayor’s daughter. “None of us are going to let you bully your way to victory here. The Southsiders are going to school with us. Get over it.”

“That’s right,” one of the other Pussycats said, glaring Cheryl.

“Quit while you’re ahead,” the other warned her. “Or else I’ll give you the same treatment that Kevin just gave Reggie.”

“Hmph!” Cheryl flipped her hair and stomped off, and the other students began to disperse as well.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Toni said dismissively as Cheryl left, and then turned to the Pussycat who had threatened Cheryl, winking at her with a sexy smile. “Hey. I’m Toni.”

“Melody,” the Pussycat said, shaking her hand with a grin of her own.  

Fangs and Sweet Pea stepped forward to meet the other two girls, but Joaquin only had eyes for Kevin. 

“Ghoulie, Serpent, Bulldog—I guess you really don’t discriminate when it comes to whose lights you punch out,” Joaquin commented. “Gotta say, though, I think it’s awful good look for you.”

“I wouldn’t normally fight,” Kevin admitted. “But I hate the idea of anyone trying to hurt you. I’ll never hesitate to defend you, Joaquin. I want you to know that.” 

And then Joaquin knew why exactly watching Kevin fight was such a turn-on. He’d only ever seen Kevin fight to protect him. Kevin didn’t fight for himself, he didn’t fight for the Bulldogs—he fought for Joaquin, and Joaquin only, never bothering for anything else. Which was the damn hottest thing, as far as Joaquin was concerned. He maybe have been a Serpent, but he basically had Kevin the Bulldog ready to bite and bark all he could in his defense.

“Trust me, babe, I appreciate it.” He leaned forward and nuzzled Kevin’s neck, eliciting a soft groan, before pulling back and grinning at him. “I happen to think that your white knight act makes a real pretty picture.” He snaked a hand down and gave Kevin’s ass a hard squeeze. “What do you say we find a private corner for ourselves and I can show exactly how much I like you like that?”

“Joaquin,” Kevin hissed, his cheeks flushing pink as he self-consciously glanced around to make sure they weren’t overheard.

Joaquin smirked. “I’ll take that as a definite sign of interest. C’mon.”

With a wave goodbye to their friends, Joaquin tugged Kevin down the hall, pulling him into the first empty corridor they found and pressing him up against the wall and kissing him soundly. 

“Mmm, you’re fantastic,” Joaquin sighed as he reluctantly drew back from Kevin’s soft lips. “Where’s a good place to do this?”

Kevin blushed harder. “There are a few empty music rooms a little further down the hall. They’re mostly soundproof, and they aren’t being used for any classes this semester.”

Joaquin gave a devilish smirk. “Let’s go.”

They set off again, Joaquin’s heart pounding in anticipation, and he couldn’t help but hope that he might get to see Kevin throw down with a few more Bulldogs on the way.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone reading! If you ever want to chat, here's my [Tumblr](http://maeve-of-winter.tumblr.com/). I love discussion and hearing people's thoughts, so feel free to submit ideas or just talk Riverdale.


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